1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to data buffers.
2. Background Art
Conventional shared data buffer memory designs are power inefficient as they maintain the entire data buffer powered on regardless of expected traffic. As a result, when the data buffer size increases, chip power consumption due to the data buffer becomes significant. Accordingly, there is a need for improved data buffer designs and modes of operation in order to save power.
The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Generally, the drawing in which an element first appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.